If I Was Nowhere
by Strawberry Shortcake123
Summary: Lovette has lived with her grandmother and aunt all her life. She spends her days at her best friend's pool, and doesn't give much thought to her real parents. But when it's obvious that her family is keeping secrets, Love decides to recover them.
1. Chapter 1

**If you are a reader of You and Me Forever, you may have read in my author's note that I was planning on writing this story. I said that it would be up soon.**

**That was in April. It is now the end of September.**

**It took me an entire six months to write the twelve chapters of this story. There were long periods of time where I just didn't feel like working on it, and so I didn't. Finally, last month, I told myself that I had to have this finished by September 30. It didn't look like I was going to make it, but a few days ago I decided to try, and I did it!**

**So here you go. Don't worry, this is not entirely other characters… just keep going. : ) Enjoy!**

Tyler kissed me.

And I did not know how to feel about it.

It wasn't even a kissing situation. Like, definitely not how I expected to get my first kiss. I always imagined that would be someplace romantic, like out on a yacht with the sun setting in the background. Definitely not at the pool in Tyler's backyard, where we'd spent every hot summer Arizona day our whole lives.

But somehow, that was where it happened.

I was swimming, threading through the water, bursting up for air every couple minutes. Tyler was laying on his stomach, his head by the end of the pool, smiling as he watched me.

"Did you see that?" I asked, grinning. "I did a handstand on the bottom. You saw that, right?"

"I saw," Tyler said, and extended one hand to me. "Come here."

I swam closer and grasped his hand, assuming he was going to tweak my nose or tickle my neck, just to make me mock-annoyed, as he often did. But when I peered up at him, he was just _looking_ at me- no mischievous smile, no wiggling fingers, nothing.

"What-" I tried to say, but he covered my mouth with his, and my mind suddenly stopped working. As Tyler kissed me, one hand in my wet blonde tangles, those lips and that hand and the water lapping around my legs were all I felt. It was scary and exhilarating, horrible and amazing. I never wanted it to end. I couldn't wait until it did.

When Tyler pulled back what was probably ten years later, it took me a minute to regain my composure and get my brain working properly again. Then, when I felt somewhat stable, I hoisted myself out of the pool and busied myself with gathering my stuff. Tyler didn't say anything as I packed my backpack, slung my big towel around my neck, and slipped on my flip-flops. As I was leaving, I called, "See you later," over my shoulder.

"Yeah," he replied, sounding distant. "See you."

As I walked the five minutes to my house, a tingling feeling kept returning to my lips as I remembered Tyler's kiss. Whether that tingling was good or bad remained to be seen.

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"I'm home," I called as I stepped into the house, kicking off my shoes and dropping my bag by the door.

"Hey, Lovie," Aunt Ella called from the kitchen. "You're back early."

I bit my lip and glanced at the clock. It was only three; usually, I was at Tyler's pool well into the evening. "We, um… we got bored."

"Oh," she said as I wandered into the kitchen. "Well, I'm making enchiladas, you want to help?"

"Sure," I sighed. "I'll go change."

As I climbed the stairs, still in my wet swim suit, Grandma came down. "Hi, Lovette, honey."

"Hi," I said. Yes, my name's _Lovette_. It's awful, but I couldn't interrogate my parents about why they would name me that, because I didn't know them. I didn't even know _why_ I didn't know them- if they were dead or what.

In my room, I found a t-shirt and shorts and put them on, then pulled my damp hair back with a scrunchie. This was done in sort of a dreamlike state, because I didn't know what to do about Tyler. He was my best friend, had been since I met him in the first grade. Now, at age fourteen, we'd been with each other through so many ups and downs; he was the only one I could trust to be there for me no matter what. But now he was kissing me… how could I trust someone who had done something so unexpected?

"Let's go, Lovie!" yelled Aunt Ella. "These enchiladas aren't making themselves!"

"Coming!" I headed for my bedroom door, but stopped when I saw my phone on the bedside table. Maybe Tyler had texted me, saying it was all a big mistake…

I jogged across the room and grabbed the phone.

No messages.

We were stuck right here, with our friendship teetering on the edge of a cliff.

**Leave me a review?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Happy Friday, guys! And October.**

I had never known my parents.

I did not have one memory of them, and I didn't have anything they'd given me. All I had was a picture, and it was taken _years_ before I was even born. According to Grandma, they were fourteen- my age. And I could see pieces of me in both of them, especially my mom.

Oh, man, did I see myself in my mom. We had the same blonde hair, the same soft face, the same pink lips. Just about the only trait I had inherited from my dad were his eyes, so dark they were almost black. If I was only getting one, though, that was the one I wanted. I loved my eyes and the way Tyler would look at them and grin and call me Coal Eyes and move wisps of hair out of my face so he could see them better-

Tyler. I scowled; he was the reason I had pulled this picture out of my dresser in the first place. I'd been so confused after the kiss and hoped some pearl of wisdom would come to me by looking at a photo of two kids in love, but that definitely wasn't happening. Looked like I'd have to figure this one out on my own.

I sighed and slipped the photo back under my socks, then shut the dresser drawer. The main issue here was that apparently Tyler liked me as more than the best friends we'd always been, and I didn't know if I liked him in that same way. If I did, I guessed we would go out and everything would be good. But if I didn't… then what?

I hadn't even realized there was a very real possibility that I liked Tyler as something more until that kiss. But afterward, I suddenly remembered the peculiar tingling on my skin whenever he casually touched me, or the way my cheeks would heat up when he smiled and I had no idea why. This had just started happening recently; maybe it was that way for him, too. Or maybe he'd liked me for a whole lot longer than that.

"Argh!" I threw my head back and growled at the ceiling. There were too many thoughts, too many feelings.

"You okay, Love?" Aunt Ella asked, stopping in my doorway with a basket of laundry under her arm. "You seem… tense."

"I _am_ tense."

"About what?" Aunt Ella took a couple steps into my room. "You wanna talk about it?"

I had gotten about a million offers to "talk about it" from Aunt Ella, but I hadn't ever taken her up on one of them. Don't get me wrong, I _loved_ Aunt Ella, but Tyler was the only one I ever felt truly comfortable sharing my problems with.

Now that he _was_ the problem, I didn't know what to do.

"Nah." I shrugged and moved over to the window, opening it halfway. "Just… all the June heat getting to me."

"Alright." Aunt Ella laughed and turned around, heading back down the hall. See, this was one reason I loved her so much: she didn't try to _make_ me talk to her, she just offered. "If you change your mind, I'll be washing my whites!"

"Okay," I called back, slipping my cell phone out of my pocket and checking my text messages. It was the day after the kiss, and I hadn't heard from Tyler at all. Usually, he would have texted me only a half hour or so after I left his pool. And usually, I would be heading over there right about now, but I wasn't.

What, I wondered as I put the phone down on my desk, would my mother do in this situation?

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That night, even if I had no way of knowing what my mom would do, I figured out what _I_ would do.

And I would send Tyler a text that said "What's up?" like nothing ever happened.

When Tyler texted back a minute later, I didn't know whether to be relieved or frightened. My heart pounded as I got into my inbox and opened the text. All it said, though, was "Nothin', you?"

I said I was doing the same and asked if he wanted to go swimming later. He said sure, he was bored so I should definitely come over. At that, I immediately got on my swimsuit and cover-up, grabbed my backpack of sun block and magazines and stuff, and trooped downstairs.

"Grandma?" I called from the foyer. "I'm going to Tyler's."

There was no answer. I furrowed my brow and stepped cautiously towards the living room, because I could have sworn she was in there earlier. "Grandma? Are you in here?"

"Right here," came Grandma's voice, and I poked my head in to see her sitting on the couch. Something about her tone sounded off, and I opened my mouth to ask what was up, then noted the way she was sitting. All stiff and tense.

"Um, are you okay?" I asked her.

"Me?" she almost squeaked. "Of course I'm fine, honey. Go on over to Tyler's; have fun."

But I didn't go anywhere. Grandma definitely _wasn't_ fine, but I had no idea what could be the problem. "Actually," I said, remembering the calendar that all three of us used every day to record every little thing that went on in our lives, "I think I'll grab some bottled water, then head out."

I hurried into the kitchen and headed for the fridge, where the calendar was hanging front and center. My eyes skimmed the weeks leading up to now. Nothing looked too interesting… until I got to today, June 25.

The one thing written in the box was 'Max's birthday.' I squinted at it. Who was Max? A guy Grandma knew from the neighborhood or church or someplace? Or… a boyfriend she had neglected to tell me about?

"Grandma!" I called, half-serious, half-joking. I grabbed a bottle of water before I went back into the living room so my story about the kitchen would be believable. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

"A _boyfriend_? Of course I don't have a boyfriend! Why would you ask me that?"

"Um…" _Because you have some guy's birthday, some guy I've never heard of, on your fridge calendar? _"Just wondering."

Grandma laughed. "Well, okay. See you later, Lovie."

I waved and stepped outside, clutching my big towel to my chest, wondering who the heck Max was and why I hadn't ever heard of him.

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When I arrived at Tyler's everything seemed completely normal. He was waiting for me on the deck, dangling his feet in the water. I smiled, and he smiled back, and he watched as I put my stuff down and kicked off my shoes.

"What's wrong?" Tyler asked when I came to sit next to him. The question was pretty much expected; he could always tell when something was up. And if I tried to brush it off, he wouldn't let me, like Aunt Ella did.

I sighed heavily. "Today is someone named Max's birthday, and for some reason, that's making my grandma depressed."

"What?" Tyler asked, raising his eyebrows.

Lightly flipping my feet in the cold water, I filled him in on all the details. About halfway through the story, I lay my head on his shoulder out of habit. It wasn't until I had settled in against him that I froze, wondering if this was still acceptable, what with recent developments, but calmed down when he put an arm around me. Just like always.

"Ask your aunt," he suggested when I was done. "Maybe she'll tell you."

"Maybe," I agreed. "But you know how they get whenever I ask about my parents." That would be secretive, uncomfortable, and quick to change the subject. Even Aunt Ella, who was always up for a conversation, wouldn't talk about anything related to my parents. "Based on how Grandma was sitting there, I'd say there's a long story behind this Max person."

"Hmm." Tyler squeezed me in a quick hug, then took his arms from around me so he could take off his shirt and lower himself into the pool. "I'm sure it's nothing."

"Yeah," I said, but I still felt uneasy. Like there was something I not only _wanted _to know, I _needed_ to know.

"Come in here." And he held his hands out for me.

I wiggled out of my cover up, pulling it over my head and tossing it behind me, leaving me in my tankini. Then I reached out and folded my fingers around Tyler's, letting him tug me into the pool.

We splashed around, ducking away from each other and laughing. When he tried to dunk my head under, I slipped underwater and skillfully maneuvered around him, then came up for air and cracked up when he started looking around, confused.

"Nice eye," I teased, swimming back over to him. "No one can fool you."

"Shut up, Love," Tyler said, grinning. He reached out and picked up the strand of hair hanging in front of my eyes, twisting it around his finger. Our eyes met, and both of our smiles faded as the gaze intensified.

It got to a point where I couldn't take it anymore. And so I brought my hands down on the water, which splashed up to Tyler's face.

"Hey!" he yelled, lunging for me, and I darted away, laughing. Then it returned to simply us, Lovette and Tyler, Tyler and Lovette, just like always, together under the Arizona sun.

**I'm in a good mood; I might post again later. Review?**


	3. Chapter 3

"Aunt Ella?" I asked the next day as we were folding clothes. "I have a question."

"What is it?" Aunt Ella finished folding a shirt and set it down. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine, I was just wondering…" I bit my lip and contemplated shutting up, but decided to press forward, see what happened. "Yesterday Grandma seemed kind of… off. So I went to look at the calendar and see if something was going on that was bugging her, right? All the calendar said was 'Max's birthday.' Who's Max?"

Something in Aunt Ella's face changed. Her hands, which had been reaching for another shirt, paused in midair, and her mouth opened a little. She stared at me, seemingly at a loss for words.

So. I was right. There _was_ something to Max, something that I wasn't necessarily supposed to know.

"I asked Grandma if he was her boyfriend," I said slowly, watching my aunt's face. "And she said no. Is he _your_ boyfriend?"

"Um… no." Aunt Ella picked up her laundry basket, which she hadn't even finished folding, and started to leave my room. "No, I don't know who Max is."

She was lying. That much was certain.

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As I was laying in bed that night, trying to calm my racing thoughts so I could get to sleep, I heard my aunt's voice, loud and clear, through my vent.

"Mom, Lovette asked me about Max today."

I immediately jumped out of bed and tiptoed across the room to the vent. I had listened to many conversations through that vent, and as far as I knew, Grandma and Aunt Ella didn't know about it. Laying down on my stomach, I pressed my ear to the vent and listened hard.

"She asked about Max?" My grandma sounded horrified. "Why would she even do that?"

"You wrote Max's birthday on the calendar!" Aunt Ella was nearly hysterical. "Why would you do that, Mom? Now she thinks Max is some boyfriend we're hiding from her. She's suspicious. If she tries to investigate…"

Actually, I wasn't planning on it. But she said it like if I investigated, I'd find something I wasn't supposed to… hmm.

"What did you tell her?" Grandma asked.

"That I had no idea who Max is."

"Maybe she'll forget about it."

Aunt Ella sighed heavily. "Did you write Fang's, too?"

_Whose?_

"No. I was just missing Max, so… I wrote her birthday down. I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry."

Max was a _girl_?

"Aw, Mom…" Aunt Ella's voice softened considerably, and I guessed by the rustling below that she was moving closer to Grandma, maybe to hug her. "I miss Max too. It's been so long."

"It really has. Sometimes I just… I wonder where she is, how she's doing. What she'd think if she could see-"

"Yeah." Aunt Ella interrupted her. "I know. I think about her a lot, too. Maybe we'll see her again someday."

"Maybe." Grandma's voice sounded distant. There was no sound for a few seconds, and then they started talking about other stuff. The Max conversation seemed to be over.

I stood up and crept over to my desk, my head spinning. Grabbing a piece of notebook paper and a pen, I started writing down what I knew:

_Max is a girl_

_Has been gone for some time_

_Someone named Fang (?)_

Right now, I was going to bed. But first thing in the morning, I would call Tyler with my new information, and we would start getting to the bottom of this.


	4. Chapter 4

**Lots of you guys are sending me your theories about what happened to Max and Fang, and I am loving reading those. Keep 'em coming! Enjoy the chapter!**

"Okay," I told Tyler as we sat down at a public library computer the next day. "Here's what I've found out."

I reached into my back pocket and took out my list. I unfolded it and smoothed it down on the table in front of us, and then we leaned over it, our heads close together.

"Max is a girl?" Tyler asked as he read. "And there's someone named Fang? And your grandma was talking about these people?"

"Uh-huh." I read over the list yet again. This was the hundredth time I'd done this today, but I was still failing to come to any conclusions. "They were talking about missing Max, and something about whether or not Grandma wrote Fang's birthday on the calendar."

"That's really weird."

"You're telling me."

"Let's look up… Fang," Tyler decided, and pulled up the Internet on the computer. I leaned over, looking intently at the screen.

"Uh…" I stared at the first three results. Two were from Wikipedia. One was about actual fangs, like teeth, and one was about a band called Fang. The third one, though, said Fang's Blog. "Ooh, click on the blog."

Tyler clicked on the link, and it took us to a blog that was, apparently, written by a guy named Fang. He leaned closer to the computer, then said, "This hasn't been updated in, like, sixteen years."

"Let me see." I reached out moved the computer monitor slightly so it was facing me. "You're right. Dang, it's, like, ancient. It's probably not what we're looking for. Let's go back."

But Tyler hesitated. "Wait… read the last post."

Welcome to Fang's Blog!

Today's Date: June 17

You are visitor number: I never did get around to fixing this thing.

Hey, guys.

I know it's been such a long time since you heard from me, or any of us, and I'm sorry about that. I'm also sorry to say that, for a lot of different reasons, this is going to be my last blog post. Ever.

The reason I'm writing today is that, after three years apart, the flock has reunited. We're going to figure everything out together. That's the way it should have always been.

Maybe you'll see us in the news, and maybe not. I guess it depends on whether or not there's some world that needs saving. More likely than not, though, we're ready to live a nice, peaceful life. I hope you guys do, too.

Fly on,

Fang

"It's that bird kid, Fang," Tyler said in a hushed voice. "You've heard of him, right? And the other bird kids?"

I vaguely recalled someone telling me about them. All they really said was that about twenty years ago, these kids who had had their DNA grafted with avian DNA as infants started making headlines everywhere because they were seen flying, like actual birds. Plus, there was something about an evil plot to knock out most of the world, which the bird kids stopped… but I couldn't really remember. When I'd asked Grandma and Aunt Ella about it, they'd just shrugged and changed the subject.

"Yeah, I guess," I said. "That's really creepy. I mean, what kind of person would do that to a bunch of babies?"

"I don't know." Tyler shook his head. "They were amazing, though. I mean, I've read a lot about them and stuff. There were six of them, and only two of them were actually related, but they stuck together like a family. And then something happened and there was a new bird kid and Fang left… or something like that." He stopped, as if remembering something. "Hey, Love. I think one of their names was Max. One of the bird kids'. And I think it was a girl."

I stared at Tyler, my eyes wide. Did Grandma know these bird people? On the one hand, it seemed totally insane, seeing as we were just a family of three living in a little southwestern town. On the other hand, there definitely weren't a lot of girls named Max running around, much less people named Fang. If this was what we found for the mysterious Max and Fang my grandmother and aunt spoke of, then it seemed like it could fit just as well as anything else.

"Are they alive?" I asked. "We could try to find them."

He looked at me like I was insane.

"What?" I snapped defensively.

"You want to find them? They're, like, an international phenomenon. Plus, they were in danger all the time, so I'm sure they're in hiding."

"The Fang guy said they were going to live peacefully! They probably live in a house somewhere, just like anybody else."

"Still. I don't…" Tyler shook his head. "We shouldn't go physically looking for them."

I hated to admit it, but he was right. How would we track down people who could fly wherever they wanted to go without having an airplane ticket? With a growl of frustration, I planted my face on the library table. "I want to know what the heck is going on with my grandma."

A moment later, Tyler started rubbing the back of my neck, and I let him, just because it felt good on my tense muscles.

**Review?**


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey, guys?" I asked, out of the blue, at dinner that night.

Aunt Ella swallowed her bite of taco and looked at me. "Yeah?"

"Did you used to know those bird people?" Diplomatic, I know, but I'd gone through so many possible ways to tell them in my head, and this seemed like the best option. Just peel it off like a Band-Aid.

My grandma choked on her water. Aunt Ella dropped her fork and stared at me, then Grandma, then back again. "How do you-"

"I just overheard you talking about some people named Max and Fang, and I asked Tyler, and he said those were the names of a couple of the bird kids. So I was just wondering." I sounded casual, leaving out the fact that I'd actually gone and done research, trying to figure out who they were. They probably didn't need to know that.

"They're not important," Grandma said, not meeting my eyes, obviously lying. She smoothed the napkin in her lap. "We were just talking about some people we used to know. No big deal."

"Grandma, yes it is," I said, putting my hand down on the table. "I know that's why you were acting all sad the other day. I'm just worried about you."

"Honey, don't worry about me." Grandma smiled at me, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I'm fine."

Really, if she'd left it at that, I probably would have thought about it some more but then forgotten about the whole thing. But she didn't. And so neither did I.

"Besides," she sighed, almost to herself, "you're the one we should be worried about."

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After dinner, I ran to Tyler's house. I didn't usually spend my evenings over there, but hey, it was summer. It wasn't even close to dark, and it was still so blistering hot that it could have been one in the afternoon. And I _really _needed to talk to him.

He was sitting on the front porch steps, holding a piece of paper in his hands. When he saw me coming, he smiled and waved.

"Hey," he said as I plopped down beside him. "What's going on?"

"My grandma's worried about _me_," I told him. "Whatever this secret is that they're keeping from me, they're keeping it from me for my well-being."

Tyler looked at me. "So are you gonna leave it alone? Since it probably is for the best?"

"Um, no," I scoffed. "Now I want to know more than ever."

He sighed. "Well, whatever you do, let me know, and I'll come along for the ride."

"Thanks." I lay back on the porch and threw one arm over my forehead. I loved knowing that he was there with me, that he would stay by my side wherever I went. "I just feel like this is information I need, you know? I have no idea what the bird people have to do with me, but I want to find out."

"I know." Tyler lay back beside me. Our hips were barely touching. "Hey, did you get your invite for the freshman dance?"

I looked at the piece of paper he held in his hands. Sure enough, it was the invitation for the dance our future high school held each summer for the incoming freshmen. Grandma and Aunt Ella usually left my mail on my desk; I hadn't looked to see if I had anything today. "I didn't read it."

"It's in a couple weeks." His eyes skimmed over the paper. "Wanna go?"

"Um…" I looked anywhere but at Tyler as I tried to figure out what he meant. Did he mean as friends? As more? "Um, with who?"

"With me," he said, confused. "Who else?"

With him. He wanted me to go to a dance alone with him. It sure sounded like a date to me.

And then I found myself saying, "Okay."

Tyler grinned. "Okay?"

I opened my mouth to take it back, but then I saw his face. His eyes were glistening, his face was glowing. And I knew I couldn't let him down. "Yep. I'll wear a dress and knock your socks off."

In one swift movement, Tyler grabbed my hips and pulled me on top of him. I shrieked, but it was cut off abruptly when he planted his lips on mine and kissed me senseless.

And when I say senseless, I mean _senseless_. All I could register was his soft, warm mouth pressing against mine again and again, filling my heart with something I couldn't quite identify but that I thought I liked.

"You already knock my socks off," he murmured when he stopped kissing me for a moment. "But I'm looking forward to the dress."

Suddenly, I wasn't thinking about whatever it was I'd come over to talk to Tyler about. The only thing I could think about was Tyler, Tyler who I laughed with, Tyler who was there when my own family was keeping secrets from me. My best friend who had been right in front of me the whole time, but I'd just now noticed him. Tyler.

When he finally stopped kissing me, he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the porch. I propped my elbows on his chest and watched a smile break out across his face. "Okay. That was amazing."

"Yeah," I agreed, because there really wasn't anything else to say. He'd already summed it up pretty good.

Tyler opened his eyes and grinned at me, then ruffled my hair and pulled my head down onto his shoulder.

That was how we sat for what was probably hours. The sun slowly sunk below the horizon, the crickets started chirping, and night settled around us. The whole time, we lay in each other's arms, and I found the first bit of peace I'd had in a long while.

**I love this scene. Planned it out while running cardio, actually. Review?**


	6. Chapter 6

Eventually, Tyler told me that he was getting numb from me laying on him, so I rolled off of him and stood, and he followed.

"Wanna go inside?" he asked me. "Watch TV or something?"

"Sure." I pulled open the screen door and stepped into the house, which was quiet. Tyler's parents must have been in bed already. We went into the living room and plopped down on the couch, our knees barely touching. Tyler picked up the remote and started flipping through the channels. My mind was mostly in the past, reliving our kisses, until he passed the ten o' clock news and I caught two words in the headline on the bottom of the screen: bird kids. "Tyler! Go back!"

"Back where?"

"To the news!"

He did, and I leaned forward eagerly. The screen read: OAKLAND, CALIF. GROWN-UP BIRD KIDS SEARCH FOR LOST DAUGHTER. Above the heading was a tall, dark man standing beside a shorter blonde woman; the woman's eyes were red and puffy, and the man looked simply solemn. For whatever reason, they reminded me of my parents in that old picture I had of them.

"…just want to see her again," the woman was saying, her voice wavering. "Please, if you know my baby, bring her back to me. Someone has her. I know someone does. I need to see her. I-"

She suddenly burst into another round of tears and appeared unable to continue. The man took her in his arms, holding her head against his shoulder. He turned and looked at the camera, his eyes sad. "We love you," he said, and the way he said it, with such sincerity, I felt like he was speaking directly to me. "Love you. Love."

And then I got it.

He _was_ speaking directly to me.

"Tyler!" I leaped off the couch and grabbed Tyler's hand, yanking him up beside me. "_I'm_ the one they're looking for!"

"What?" He stared at me. "Love, that's crazy."

"It is not! That's how I know!"

"_What's_ how you know?"

"He said my name!"

"Lovette," Tyler said slowly, clearly convinced that I was losing it, "he said 'I love you'. That doesn't count as saying your name."

I brushed him off impatiently. Even if he didn't believe me, there was no doubt in my mind that the Max and Fang my grandma knew were the same people as the bird kids on TV. No doubt that they were my parents. And no doubt that when that man, my father, kept repeating the word 'love', it was a message to me.

I dashed out Tyler's front door and down the street, the only light being the circles shining on the sidewalk from the streetlamps. I never stopped running, never looked back, but I could hear Tyler's feet pounding on the sidewalk behind me.

We reached my house in just a couple of minutes. I bounded up the steps and pulled open the door. "Grandma!" I called into the house.

"Are you sure about this?" Tyler asked from behind me, but I barely registered what he was saying. I was already waiting for Grandma and Aunt Ella, who were coming down the stairs.

"What's wrong, Love?" asked Grandma. "You're so red. Were you just outside?"

"Yeah," I said. "Grandma, I know…" I swallowed hard and looked at their concerned faces. "I know about my parents."

**Dang. That happened quick. I forgot how fast it was… this chapter was written in the beginning of June. Well, there **_**are**_** only twelve chapters, so it happened halfway through the story… anyway. Review?**


	7. Chapter 7

They had separated at the age of fifteen; it was Fang who left, leaving Max and the rest of their flock of bird kids devastated. He told them he'd come back in twenty years, but it ended up being only two- he and Max were completely, utterly in love, and neither of them could take being apart anymore.

Fang came back, and the whole flock moved in with Dr. Martinez. They started school, and Fang proposed to Max on the day of theirs and Iggy's high school graduation. Two months later, they were married; two years later, at age twenty, Max was pregnant.

Everybody was overjoyed, and the baby suddenly became the focus of the household. Rooms were rearranged to make space for the new resident; bottles and booties were bought; Max and Fang spent a lot of time smiling and giggling and hugging each other. It seemed, for the first time in their lives, that the future looked bright.

Then something happened. It came out of nowhere, but when it happened the others realized that lately, Max had seemed quieter, not as happy as she'd been before. Still, nobody was prepared for the day Fang walked into the bathroom to see Max, five months pregnant, holding a razor to her swollen stomach.

"What are you doing?" he yelled, lunging forward and ripping the razor from her grasp. Fortunately, she had only been getting ready to cut herself, hadn't done it yet.

Max didn't answer Fang's question. She just stared at the razor in his hand, her eyes big yet empty. The other members of the house, who had heard the yelling, gathered in the hall.

"Huh?" He tossed the razor onto the counter, pulled her shirt down over her stomach, and gripped her shoulders in his hands. "Answer me, Max. Tell me what you were doing."

She swallowed hard, then whispered, "Getting the baby out."

Fang stared at her, not believing what he'd just heard. Max wanted that baby. She loved that baby. "What do you mean, Max?"

"I need it out."

"Max, what- what-" He really thought he might cry, something he hadn't done since the day after he left the flock. Yesterday everything had been perfect; now, his beloved wife was in the bathroom trying to kill their child. "Max, please. Explain it to me. What are you doing?"

"I told you, Fang, I told you. I need to get it out." Now bordering on hysteria, Max shot out her hand and grabbed the razor off the counter. Before she could do anything, Fang started wrestling it away from her.

"Help me!" he called to the others, who had been too shocked to move. Iggy moved behind Max and tried to calm her flailing limbs. A couple minutes later, Fang had the razor safely in his grasp, and Max was sobbing in Iggy's arms.

Dr. Martinez put her arm gently around Max and led her out of the bathroom. The others watched until they disappeared into Max and Fang's bedroom, and then they exchanged frightened looks. Nobody had ever seen her break like that before.

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After that one episode, things almost returned to normal. There was an air of caution, of fear, in the house, but Max was cheerful as she picked out the colors for the baby girl's room, and the others slowly relaxed.

Three months passed. One day at breakfast, only weeks before the baby was due, Nudge picked up a knife to spread butter on her toast.

In the next second, Max was grabbing the knife out of Nudge's hand and holding it slightly above her bulging stomach. Fang leaped up from his seat at the kitchen table, fear flashing in his eyes, and ran to stop her.

"Max, put that down!" he demanded, snatching it and throwing it into the sink. "What is wrong with you?"

"Out," Max grunted, not sounding like herself at all. "It should be out already. I'm sick of it."

Fang stared at her, wondering if this was the same woman who he had pored over onesies with the day before. "Max," he said desperately, pleading for her to come back, gripping her hands in his own, "you're not sick of her. She's ours, she's our daughter. You love her."

"I don't," she snapped, wrenching her hands from his grasp. Her eyes were trained on the knife, sitting in the sink waiting for her. "I don't want it anymore. I want to get it out."

Then, just like last time, Max started crying. Fang wrapped her up in his arms. Gazzy quickly grabbed the knife in the sink, plus a couple others that were out on the counter, and tossed them under the sink.

Nothing got better after that. Max became very detached, no longer interested in helping with anything related to the baby; Fang never let her out of his sight, afraid of what she might do to their daughter. He also spent a lot of time whispering with Dr. Martinez, and together, they came to a decision: after the baby was born, she would be left in Dr. Martinez's care while Fang took Max away to get help. The flock would be coming with them, because, after much discussion, it was agreed upon that it would be best for the child if she had no idea of the extraordinary circumstances that were her parents' lives.

And that was what happened. When Lovette was two days old, Max was released from the hospital, and Fang immediately loaded her and the flock into the car. He'd found an institute in California to take her to; they were expecting her. Max refused to say goodbye to the baby, but Fang kissed the soft skin of both her cheeks and her forehead, stroked her wings, which would be removed soon, then whispered, "Love you forever," before reluctantly handing her to Max's mother.

He got in the car.

And drove away.

**Intense, dude.**

**Okay, so based on the theories that you guys had, I'm pretty sure nobody saw that coming, which is a good thing. :D So… tell me what you think! Review!**


	8. Chapter 8

I buried my face in my knees, not even knowing what to think. Tyler was beside me on the couch; he wrapped his arms lightly around me, rested his chin on my shoulder.

"Oh… oh." I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. I couldn't say any real words. "Oh. Oh, holy cow…"

"It's okay, Love," Grandma said quietly. "I know this is shocking."

All this time, I had sort of assumed they were dead- but they weren't. My mom had been in an asylum- and because she tried to kill me. My dad had taken her away to protect me.

They were out there. They were alive.

Was my mom so messed up that she was _still_ in a mental institution after fourteen years?

If she wasn't, why hadn't they come back for me by now?

Did they even want me anymore?

_Yes. _I answered my own question. Yes, they did. Only an hour earlier, I had been watching them on TV, begging their daughter, begging me, to come back to them.

And I would.

"I saw them on the news," I told Grandma and Aunt Ella. "They want me back."

They glanced at each other, looking unsure. My heart sunk. Tyler, reading my mind as he often did, squeezed my arm.

"Love, your mother…" Grandma looked at the ground, suddenly looking a thousand years old. "She went through a lot in her life. All of them did, but… it took a huge toll on her."

I narrowed my eyes. "It's been fourteen years. She's fine now. On the news, she was crying and saying how much she wanted me back… she doesn't want me gone anymore."

Even before I finished talking, I could tell it wasn't going to get me anywhere. Aunt Ella opened her mouth to argue with me, but I held up my hand to stop her. "I know. We have to be careful with this." I stood up, blinking hard to hold back my "tears". "This is just a lot to digest right now. I'm gonna go upstairs."

"Okay, sweetie," Grandma said softly. "If you want to talk…"

"Okay," I sniffed. "Thanks."

I turned around and headed for the stairs. I felt three pairs of eyes on my back, and I squeezed my own shut, wondering if my acting was so good that not even Tyler realized what I was doing.

But as I mounted the first step, I heard the couch springs squeak, and then he was coming up behind me. I looked over my shoulder at him, and he winked so quickly I wasn't sure I actually saw it.

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"Two from Phoenix to Oakland?" Tyler asked, scrolling through airplane tickets on his iPhone.

"Yeah," I said, standing behind him and peering over his shoulder.

"Wanna leave tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

He bit his lip and pushed a button, concentrating. "This is gonna cost $360. We have to enter a method of payment right now."

I frowned and pulled my head off his shoulder, beginning to pace around my room. "How much cash you got? I have maybe a hundred."

"Only fifty, but we can't use cash, anyway… not over this thing…"

I strode past my dresser, caught sight of the top drawer, and stopped in my tracks. "I think…" I yanked open the drawer and pushed some socks aside. Sure enough, there was my emergency credit card, just sitting there, having never been used. "Here."

Tyler's eyes widened as I held up the life-saving piece of plastic. "Is that-"

"This qualifies as an emergency," I said firmly, even though I doubted my grandma and aunt would agree. I held it out to him. "Go ahead and pay."

He hesitated, then sighed and took it. "Your grandma's gonna hate me."

"No she won't," I said automatically. "She can't hate somebody she's going to be related to."

It slipped out. I didn't mean to say it. Heck, I didn't even know what it _meant_, until I thought about it.

Tyler and I were staring at each other. The silence in the room was suddenly very thick, too thick.

I had implied that we were going to get married someday.

_Shit._

"I, I mean…" I quickly tried to cover, even though it was useless. We both knew what that statement had meant. "I mean, you know, since we're always together, and…"

That hadn't come out right.

"I mean how we hang out a lot! And you're always here, I'm always there, and-"

And then my words were cut off by Tyler's lips pressing against my own. I squealed against his mouth, surprised, but we stayed locked in the kiss as he held my face in his hands. I grabbed the collar of his shirt, making sure he stayed as close to me as physically possible.

We broke apart only when our lungs were completely devoid of oxygen. Tyler kept cupping my face, stroking my cheeks with his thumbs, looking at me with the most wonderful glint in his eyes. "Lovette," he whispered, "I would love to be related to your grandma someday."

**Okay. I'll admit it. That last part makes me squeal on the inside.**

**Review?**


	9. Chapter 9

At four a.m. the next morning, I was at the bus station, waiting for Tyler so we could board a 4:30 to Phoenix. Our town was more in the southeastern part of the state, so it was going to be a two and a half hour trip to the city; then we had to find the airport and go through security to board our 9:50 flight, arriving in Oakland at approximately 11:45. By noon, we would already have had a long day.

I was a nervous wreck. My hands were sweating as I clenched them around the strap of my duffle bag. I had left a note on the kitchen table so Grandma and Aunt Ella would know that I was okay, but I was terrified that one of them would want a midnight snack and find the note before we got out of town. My cell phone was in my pocket, giving them an instant link to me. I just hoped they wouldn't use it.

"Love!"

I whirled around and was instantly comforted at the sight of Tyler, with a huge grin on his face, coming toward me. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder and two tickets in his hand.

"Those for the bus?" I asked, pointing at them.

"Yep." He handed me one, then slipped the other in his pocket. "I printed off the plane tickets, too. They're in the bag."

"Sweet."

Tyler looked around. There weren't many people here at this hour, but there were a few. I couldn't believe we were doing this; we weren't exactly risk-takers. But this was much riskier than anything most daredevils had ever done.

"Let's sit down until we can board," he said, taking my hand and pulling me over to a bench. We sat beside each other and waited, a comfortable silence between us.

Sometimes it was good to just _be_.

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Six hours later, we were on the plane, well on our way to Oakland. I was tired, having had almost no rest the previous night, and was fighting to keep my eyes open.

"Sleepy?" Tyler asked, looking at me.

I nodded, and he pulled my head down against his shoulder. I closed my eyes and almost fell asleep, but not quite, as I could still feel his tender caresses of my hair. My ears popped as the plane soared through the sky, but I just kept swallowing, and I could hear correctly again.

"Love?"

I yawned, started to lift my head from Tyler's shoulder but decided it was too heavy, and lay it down again. "Yeah?"

"Once we get there…" He cocked his head to the side. "Do you have any idea where, exactly, we can find your parents?"

I bit my lip. "Well… no." Then, feeling doubt set in, I hastily added: "But we'll find them, Ty. We'll figure something out."

"We're going to a big place, Love. With absolutely no leads-"

"Hey." Now I did sit up, and turned to him, narrowing my eyes. "O ye of little faith. I'm going to _get_ a lead, okay? And we are not leaving that place until we have found them."

"Okay, okay," Tyler murmured, gently pushing my head back into his shoulder. I grudgingly obliged. "I'll take your word for it. Get some rest."

This time, I did slip into a slumber, lured to sleep by Tyler's hand stroking my arm, his lips brushing my forehead.

**Yikes, short! Maybe I'll update again to make up for the length of this one.**

**Of course, whether or not that happens depends on if I get review… :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**Okay, guys- here's your second update of the day! Thanks for reviewing! Enjoy!**

"Taxi!" I yelled, waving one over outside the airport. The driver, a middle-aged man, pulled over to the curb and got out to help them put their duffel bags in the trunk. Tyler and I slipped into the backseat, and then the driver came back.

"Where you headed?" he asked as he pulled away from the curb and started toward the main road.

Tyler and I exchanged a glance. We had no idea.

"Is there a hospital nearby?" I asked, leaning forward. "A large one?"

"Uh, I think so," he muttered, taking a turn onto the highway. He watched the road and didn't seem like he was planning to add onto the statement.

"Wow, I feel encouraged that we're in this guy's hands," I said to Tyler under my breath. I settled back in my seat, crossed my arms over my chest, and stared out the window. Cars and stretches of highway flashed by, buildings on the horizon. I wondered if one of the tall structures that I was looking at right now, right at this very moment, was where my mom was. My dad. My family.

"Do you think she's even in this mental place anymore?" Tyler asked in a low voice. "It _has_ been fourteen years. Surely she's out by now. And if not, well, then…"

He trailed off, but I knew what he was going to say: that if she was still in the mental institute after all this time, the chances of her ever getting out were pretty slim. I swallowed hard and forced my thoughts to turn more optimistic.

We arrived at the hospital, a huge one with multiple buildings and entrances. I paid the cab driver with my emergency credit card, and we got out, our luggage in tow.

"Do you kids have a hotel or something to go to?" the driver asked as he got out and started handing us our bags.

I hesitated, but Tyler said, "We're meeting family here. They'll take us to the hotel later."

The driver, seeming to have recovered some brain power, looked skeptical. "But you didn't even know the name of the hospital you wanted."

"This is it," I said quickly, taking a few steps backward. "I remember it now. Thanks. Let's go, Ty."

We slung our bags over our shoulders and quickly strode toward the front doors, leaving the driver behind.

"Where are we going?" muttered Tyler as we neared the doors, still walking forward, as if we were going to go inside.

I glanced back over my shoulder. The driver was slowly climbing back into the cab, but he was gazing after us, confused. "Go in and wait for him to leave."

We stepped into the lobby and took seats by the door. Nobody gave us a second glance. I positioned myself to where I could look out the window. The guy was in his cab, staring in our direction. He hesitated, then turned back to the road and pulled out of the parking lot.

Once I was certain he was out of sight, I turned to Tyler. "Okay, we're clear."

"What now?" he asked, standing up. "Should we just wander the halls?"

"No…" I looked outside. There weren't many people around; just a handful of elderly people sitting on benches or walking slowing toward the entrance. "Let's go read that map," I said, pointing at the board detailing the medical complex. "Look for something that says 'psychopath ward'."

Tyler laughed and put his hand on the small of my back, ushering me outdoors. "It isn't going to say 'psychopath ward'."

We surveyed the map and found something labeled Mental Ward. If my mom was here, this was where we were most likely to find her. It was on the west side of campus, and we made our way toward it, hand in hand.

As I walked with Tyler, watching him glance at me out of the corner of his eye, I wondered about my parents, if they experienced this same stomach-fluttering, heart-pounding feeling when they fell in love at our age. I wondered if they still did, all these years later.

"Here." We came to the sidewalk outside the Mental Ward, and the air around us seemed to drop a few degrees, the atmosphere changing. "Let's just sit on the curb and, like, wait for them to come out."

"That's your plan?" Tyler cocked his eyebrow at me. "Really?"

"Do you have a better one?" I asked, plopping down my duffel bag. When he plopped his down beside mine, I took that as his answer. "Didn't think so."

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For three days, we camped outside the Mental Ward. We moved to a space between two buildings, where we were barely noticeable but had a clear view of the doors of the Mental Ward. We took turns walking to a nearby convenience store for food, and we took turns sleeping; someone was always awake, keeping an eye out for both security and my parents, in case they left in the middle of the night for whatever reason.

Whoever's turn it was to sleep used the other's lap for a pillow. Every time I awoke, it was to the rhythm of fingers running through my hair. I did the same to Tyler when he drifted off with his head on my knees.

On the third day, around nine in the morning, I was leaning on Tyler's shoulder, still trying to wake up, when he suddenly gasped and smacked me on the shoulder.

"Ow!" I griped, sitting up. "What was that for?"

"Look," he hissed, pointing. I blinked, waiting for my vision to come into focus, but then I saw them: a blonde woman and a dark-haired man, coming out the double doors of the mental ward, his arm draped over her shoulders.

I recognized them almost immediately. They were my parents.

"What do we do, what do we do?" I asked Tyler urgently, jumping up and hurriedly throwing my duffel bag over my shoulder. "Go up to them now?"

"No," he said. "Too public. If we freaked them out or something… that wouldn't be good."

"Yeah, but if they get in a car, we'll lose them." I was less then ten yards away from my parents, my _parents_, close enough to run into their arms. But they wouldn't know it was me. And my mom… was apparently still going to this mental hospital. I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted to get too close to her yet.

"Love!" Tyler grabbed his own bag and tugged me out of our hiding spot by the arm, out into the setting summer sun, out into plain sight.

"What are you doing?" I asked, struggling to keep up with him as he strode quickly down the sidewalk.

Then I saw it: a city bus. My parents were getting on it, and now we were rushing to catch it, too. There were a few people between us and my parents; they didn't even notice us as they paid their fee and moved down the aisle.

"I have change," Tyler said, shuffling through his pockets and counting out a couple dollars for our fare. He dropped it into the box, then took my hand and led me towards the back.

When we passed my parents, I ducked my head, but I didn't need to worry. They weren't paying attention to anything happening around them. My mom was slouched over with her head on my dad's chest, and leaning close to her face, whispering as he stroked her hair. Again, I had the urge to launch myself at them and yell "I'm your daughter!", but I knew we needed to follow them first, find out where they were going, and how they were: whether or not this would be a good time for them to get such shocking news.

We sat down two rows behind them, squeezing our duffels into the space between our feet and the seat in front of us. The bus started moving, and I kept my eyes trained on my back of their heads.

"I hope my mom doesn't still want to kill me," I told Tyler in a hushed voice.

"_She_ never wanted to," he replied just as quietly, squeezing my knee. "Something overcame her and made her _think_ she wanted to."

"What's the difference?" I scoffed, resting my temple on the window and looking at him.

He leaned his head back against the seat and caught my eye in a serious gaze. "There's a difference, Love. There's a big difference."

0000000000

Three stops later, my parents got out of their seats and started up the aisle to get off the bus. I smacked Tyler, and we quickly jumped up and followed as quickly as we could with bags flung over our shoulders and not much space to move around.

"Where'd they go?" I asked frantically when we stepped onto the sidewalk and the bus was pulling away. We were standing on the curb in an unfamiliar city, people crowding all around us; I began to feel more than a little anxious about our situation.

"There!" Tyler grabbed my arm and dragged me into a group crossing the street. Up ahead, I caught sight of the back of my father's head, his unusually tall height making him hover above everybody else. As long as no other nearly-seven-foot-tall men got our way, we should be able to keep track of them.

"I wonder where they're going," I mused.

"I hope they're going to lunch."

I raised my eyebrow. "What?"

Tyler shrugged. "Hey, I'm hungry! If they went to lunch we could watch them from a table. And get some grub, too."

At the mention of food, my stomach started growling, and I remembered that we had not eaten since the night before. In the excitement of the day, I had forgotten all about my hunger.

We came to another crosswalk. My parents were already on the other side of the street, but the light turned red, and me and Tyler had to stop.

"We're going to lose them," I murmured, looking out over the crowd. They were already half a block ahead of us, and counting.

Tyler looked both ways. The light for the pedestrians was still red, but no cars were coming our way. "Come here," he said, grabbing my hand, and stepped out into the street.

What happened next was in slow motion, yet over in an instant. I stumbled off the curb after Tyler, tripping over my own two feet, my hand slipping from his. I heard his shout, followed by the unfamiliar ones of others, and then the sound of a speeding car, coming closer, closer. Closer.

**Alright, so that one's a lot longer! There's only one more chapter, then an epilogue. Man, it takes me six months to write it but only a week to put it up… anyway, review?**


	11. Chapter 11

Tyler really didn't know how she was alive.

The car's front wheel had rolled right over her, producing a sickening crack as several of her bones snapped. The driver immediately stopped the car and jumped out, and after that, all of Tyler's memories were of blurs of people, cell phones dialing 9-1-1, one cop running to investigate the scene while another prevented Tyler from running to Lovette's side.

She had several broken ribs, two broken arms, and a broken jaw; she'd been in the emergency room for five hours, and he still wasn't allowed to see her. His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would fly right out of his chest. The doctors said that she would probably be all right, but _probably_ didn't cut it for him. He would not be satisfied until he knew was would happen to Love.

If there had ever been any doubt before, there was none now. He loved her, with everything he had.

But even more than that, she was his best friend, his other half.

Tyler couldn't live with half a heart.

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Valencia had been tuned into the news channel night and day, hoping and praying for news of her granddaughter. Ever since she ran off three days prior, she and Ella had called everyone they knew, every news station, the police and child services, anybody who might be able to help them find her.

Now, as she watched the news, she discovered that somebody had found her- but it wasn't in the way she had hoped for. Love had been found by the reporters carrying the breaking story of the MISSING GIRL BRUTALLY INJURED BY CAR IN OAKLAND, CA. She saw Love, her body bent at all sorts of wrong and awkward angles, being loaded onto a gurney and into an ambulance. She saw the crowd surrounding the scene, the cops pushing everybody back, and Tyler. Tyler, who ten minutes after she'd seen him on television, called her house and sobbed into the phone, apologizing profusely for going along with Love's plan to sneak off to Oakland, crying that it was all his fault, that he allowed this to happen.

Less than half an hour later, the police called to confirm what she already knew: her granddaughter had been located.

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A sudden burst of commotion rose behind them, and Max looked backward. A car was halted at an odd angle in the street, and spectators gathered around the front of the car.

"Fang…" Whatever was going on was making her urgent, for reasons she could not explain. Grabbing her husband's hand, she marched back to the scene and fought her way to the front of the crowd, to see what was going on.

The first thing she saw was a young girl laying on the ground, bloody and broken, and she gasped at the horror of the sight. But then she realized something that produced a second, louder gasp: this girl was _hers._

"Fang…" she said again, slowly, not knowing if he'd think she was crazy if she told him. When she looked up at him, though, she saw that his dark eyes were wide as he stared at the girl, and his normally olive skin was pale: he saw it, too. The similarities, both to themselves and to the baby they'd left behind. She wasn't going crazy.

Television crews were zeroing in on the scene, and several cops were fighting them off, trying to make room for the approaching ambulance to get through. As the cameras fought with the law enforcement to get their shots, Max clapped a hand over her mouth and screamed into it, squeezing her eyes shut, tears streaming down her face, too much emotion all at one time.

_Was this what I wanted to do to her?_ she thought, horrified. _Do I still want to?_ But she knew that she didn't, because she felt nothing but pain as she looked at her hurt baby. Whatever was wrong with her back then, she was past it now.

"My baby!" Max wailed, grasping Fang's hand, digging her nails into the back of it until he bled. "That's my daughter. Fang, Fang." Her voice rose, almost to a scream. Even so, nobody paid any attention to her. There was too much chaos; she was just another small part of it. "She's my daughter! _She's our daughter_!"

**Dang. I hope that was as intense as I intended it to be.**

**Just an epilogue left! Wanna review this chapter? :D**


	12. Epilogue

**Sorry I didn't update earlier today, guys! Busy, busy! Anyway, here's your epilogue:**

I don't remember anything between the car closing in on me and a hard mattress. At first, that's _all_ I remember: I can't even place whose voice is speaking lowly to me or whose hand is on my knee. It's a boy, and I know he has a name, but I couldn't possibly tell you what it is.

I open my eyes. There he is, in a chair next to my bed, his head resting on the mattress. When he sees that I'm awake, he sits up quickly and leans close. "Love?"

It takes a second, but then the wires in my brain connect and get a result: _That's my name._ I squeeze his hand, encouraging him to continue.

"Thank God," he gasps, standing and moving in to hug me, then stopping abruptly and lightly patting the top of my head instead. It is then that I realize that huge portions of my body are covering in casts and bandages: both arms, my torso, my jaw- I suddenly realize that if I try to speak, I will not be able to.

"You scared me," the boy continues, stroking my face and kissing it. I just sit there, letting him cradle my cheeks, feeling comforted even though I still can't locate his name.

_Tyler._ The name enters my brain, and I try to say it out of habit. I can't, but Tyler doesn't care- he's still rambling on and on about how glad he is that I'm all right, and I'm thinking how lucky I must be to have someone who obviously really cares for me.

Outside the door, I hear people's voices, some shuffling around. Like Tyler's, these are voices that seem familiar, but that I can't put my finger on. I concentrate, trying so hard to grasp the identities of the people who seem to love me.

The door to my room opens, and a Hispanic woman in her fifties bursts in, followed by a younger woman who looks just like her.

_Who are they?_ I think frantically, feeling like the four windowless walls of this room are closing in on me. My heart starts to pound; the heart monitor I'm hooked up to peaks.

And then, two more people emerge, and suddenly everything clicks into place. I release all the tension from my shoulders and fall back on the pillows, staring into the watery eyes of a blonde woman with permanent worry lines on her forehead and a tall, muscular, dark-haired man.

I cannot lift my arms, but with my eyes, I reach out to my parents, my mom and my dad, with me at last, planning to go nowhere but here.

**Alright. So… it's over.**

**It was extremely quick, as you can see. It's probably a little bit rushed, but… oh well. That's what happens when you finish it after being out of the groove of the story for a while.**

**Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing this story, guys! Hope you enjoyed it! :)**


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